Degrees / Education

• PhD (Physics) 1984, Ohio State University
• BS (Physics) 1976, National Tsing Hua University, Taiwan, R. O. C.

Research Areas

• Advanced Manufacturing
• Health and Medicine
• Materials

Research Interests

Areas of Study

• Materials Science and Engineering
• Nanomaterials

Academic Distinctions

• Voted the Best Professor of Materials Engineering Department by the graduating class of 1996
• The American Ceramic society 1999 Edward C. Henry Electronics Division Best Paper Award for “Electromechanical Behavior of PZT-Brass Unimorphs,” J. Am Ceram. Soc. 82[7], 1733-1740 (1999) by X. Li, W.Y. Shih, I. A. Aksay, and W.-H. Shih
• Faculty Achievement Award for excellence in teaching at Drexel, Feb. 23, 2000
• Professor of the Year, College of Engineering, Student Choice Awards, 2001
• Winner of Best Senior Design Project in Department of Materials Engineering, Drexel University, M. P. Rossi, 2002
• Winner of Best Senior Design Project in Department of Materials Engineering, Drexel University, Steve Szewczyk, 2003
• Best Poster in Drexel Research Day, Undergraduate category, Robert Luchenta and W.-H. Shih, 2003
• Inducted to Drexel 106 Club
• Research Achievement Award, Drexel University 2004
• Best Poster in 2004 Drexel Research Day, Graduate category in Emerging Technology, Hongyu Luo, C. Martorano, W. Y. Shih, and W.-H. Shih
• Teaching Award, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Drexel University 2004
• 2nd place best poster at the 4th annual poster contest for graduate students of the Philadelphia "Liberty Bell" Chapter of ASM International, 2005, Hui Li, W. Y. Shih, and W.-H. Shih
• Best poster award at the 2005 Research Day, College of Engineering, Drexel University, Hakki O. Yegingil, Wan Y Shih, Waqas Anjum, Jeffrey Justin, Ari D Brooks, and Wei-Heng Shih
• Travel Grant for Hakki O. Yegingil to attend 2005 MRS Fall Meeting
• Koerner Fellowship awarded to Joe Capobianco, 2007
• 1st place best poster at the 7th annual poster contest for graduate students of the Philadelphia "Liberty Bell" Chapter of ASM International, 2008, Hakki Yegingil, W. Y. Shih, and W.-H. Shih
• 3rd best poster at the 7th annual poster contest for graduate students of the Philadelphia "Liberty Bell" Chapter of ASM International, 2008, Joseph Capobianco, W. Y. Shih, and W.-H. Shih
• The senior design team, Giang Au, Rosemary Bastian, Thao Nguyen , and Zankhana Patel, with their project, “Optimization of Synthesis Process and Surface Modification of Non-toxic ZnSe Quantum Dots for In-vivo Imaging and Diagnosis Applications,” was selected as the best senior design project of School of Biomedical Engineering, Science, and Health Systems in 2009
• Student Xiaotong Gao won the Lee Smith Traveling Fellowship to China
• Xiaotong Gao received the Excellent presentation award, 2010 Symposium on Piezoelectricity, Acoustic Waves, and Device Applications, Xiamen, China, Dec. 10-13, 2010
• Outstanding Teaching Award, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, 2011, Drexel University
• Giang Au’s poster “Aqueous Cd1-xPbxS Quantum Dots for Near Infrared Imaging,” is the winner of the poster award for graduate student in Biology and Biomedical category in Drexel’s Research Day 2011 competition.
• Giang Au’s poster “Assessing Breast Cancer Margin Using an Aqueous Quantum Dot (AQDs) Enabled Molecular Probe,” is the winner of the poster award for graduate student in Biology and Biomedical category in Drexel’s Research Day 2012 competition.
• Drexel Teaching Excellence Award, 2012-2013, Cheng-Hsin (Johnson) Lu (advisor: Wei-Heng Shih) – Highly Commended
• Shanghai Second Polytechnic University Overseas Famous Teacher, 2013-2018
• 2013 Fellow of National Academy of Inventors 27. 2018 Drexel University College of Engineering Outstanding Innovation Award
• 2018 College of Engineering Outstanding Innovation Award

Select Publications

• X. Gao, W.-H. Shih and W. Y. Shih, “Flow Energy Harvesting Using Piezoelectric Cantilevers with Cylindrical Extension,” IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics, 60, 1116-1118 (2013)
• Wei Wu, Ceyhun Kirimli, Wei-Heng Shih, and W. Y. Shih, “Real-time, In Situ DNA Hybridization Detection with Attomolar Sensitivity without Amplification Using (Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3)0.65-(PbTiO3)0.35 Piezoelectric Plate Sensors,” Biosensors and Bioelectronics, 43, 391-399 (2013)
• C. Kirimli, W. Y. Shih, and W.-H. Shih, “Flow-Enhanced Detection Specificity of Mutated DNA against Wild Type with Reporter Microspheres,” Analyst, 138, 6117–6126 (2013)
• G. H. T. Au, W. Y Shih, and W.-H. Shih, “High-Conjugation-Efficiency Aqueous CdSe Quantum Dots,” Analyst, 138, 7316-7325 (2013)
• Xin Xu, C. Gifford-Hollingsworth, R. Sensenig, W.-H. Shih, W. Y. Shih and A. D. Brooks, “Breast Tumor Detection Using Piezoelectric Fingers: First Clinical Report,” Journal of the American College of Surgeons 216, 1168 (2013).
• G. H. T. Au, L. Mejias, V. K. Swami, A. D. Brooks, W. Y Shih, and W.-H. Shih, “Quantitative Assessment of Tn antigen in Breast Tissue Micro-arrays using CdSe Aqueous Quantum Dots,” Biomaterials, 35, 2971-2980 (2014)
• Ceyhun E. Kirimli, Wei-Heng Shih, and Wan Y. Shih, “DNA Hybridization Detection with 100 zM Sensitivity Using Piezoelectric Plate Sensors with Improved Noise-Reduction Algorithm,” Analyst 139, 2754-2763 (2014)
• Wei-Chun Tan, Wei-Heng Shih and Yang-Fang Chen, ‘Highly Sensitive Graphene-Organic Hybrid Photodetector with Piezoelectric Substrate,’ Advanced Functional Materials, 24, 6818-6825 (2014)
• Giang Au, Wan Y. Shih, and Wei-Heng Shih, “Efficient Intranuclear Gene Delivery by CdSe Aqueous Quantum Dots Electrostatically-Coated with Polyethyleneimine,” Materials Research Express, 2, 015401 (2015)
• Cheng-Hsin Lu, Wan Y. Shih, and Wei-Heng Shih, “Effects of Pb Treatment on Optical Properties of Aqueous CdSe Quantum Dots,” Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., 55, 99−106 (2016)
• Ceyhun E. Kirimli, Wei-Heng Shih, and W. Y. Shih, “Amplification-free In Situ K-Ras Point Mutation Detection at 60 copies/ml in Urine in a Background of 1000-fold Wild Type,” Analyst, 141, 1421 (2016)
• Golam Haider, Prathik Roy, Chia-Wei Chiang, Wei-Chun Tan, Yi-Rou Liou, Huan-Tsung Chang, Chi-Te Liang, Wei-Heng Shih and Yang-Fang Chen, “Electrical Polarization Induced Ultra-high Responsivity Photodetectors Based on Graphene and Graphene Quantum Dots,” Adv. Funct. Mater. 26, 620–628 (2016)
• Wei Wu, Wei-Heng Shih, and Wan Y. Shih, “Direct observation of binding Stress-Induced crystalline orientation in Piezoelectric Plate Sensors (PEPS),” Journal of Applied Physics 119, 124512 (2016)
• Cheng-Hsin Lu, Jiaang Hu, Wan Y. Shih, Wei-Heng Shih, “Control of morphology, photoluminescence, and stability of colloidal methylammonium lead bromide nanocrystals by oleylamine capping molecules,” J. Colloid & Interface Science, 484, 17–23 (2016)
• Xin Xu, Youngsoo Chung, Ari D. Brooks, Wei-Heng Shih, and Wan Y. Shih, “Development of Array Piezoelectric Fingers towards In Vivo Breast Tumor Detection,” Review of Scientific Instrument, 87, 124301 (2016)
• Song Han, Wan Y. Shih, and Wei-Heng Shih, “Charge-Neutral, Stable, Non-Cytotoxic, Near-Infrared SnS Aqueous Quantum Dots for High Signal-to-Noise-Ratio Biomedical Imaging,” Chemistry Select, 2, 7332-39 (2017)